Children were left in tears after they saw a dog attack a Common Buzzard during a bird of prey display at a family event.

Henfold Birds of Prey owners, Barry Ryder and Steph Paige, had taken their collection of hand-reared birds to the Cow Pie Country Show in Lingfield on May 11 to fly before a live audience.

The display, which was being watched by families and children, took a horrific turn when a member of the audience lost control of two dogs - thought to be a white jack russell and a large red-coloured border terrier.

Miss Paige, who was looking after the birds while her partner Barry conducted the show, was speaking to the audience with an owl balanced on her arm when she first saw the jack russell enter the enclosure.

“I saw this little white dog come and push his nose through the fencing," she recalled. “I ran over as quickly as I could and shoved him with my foot. I saw someone run through the crowd and get hold of the dog but as they grabbed that one they let go of the other one.

“There was one bird flapping around and the dog made straight for it and grabbed hold of it."

After shouting for help, two young men helped to pry the border terrier off the buzzard, which was left with a severely broken wing.

"Lots of kids were screaming, it was awful," said Steph. "The bird was struggling on the ground, it all happened so fast.

"The two lads gave the dog back to the owner and they just disappeared."

Vinnie, a four-year-old Common Buzzard was put down after the attack.

On-looker, Eric Smith, saw the incident unfold.

"The poor bird was lying on its back and there were feathers everywhere," said Mr Smith, whose daughter, Connie, was volunteering in the arena with the birds.

"I saw someone hand the dog to the owner and he had the lead on it, " he added. "I thought I am going to have a word with him and next time I turned around he had gone."

The owner of the dog is thought be be a man who was wearing a blue jumper and jeans with dark hair.

He was with a woman who is thought to have had blonde hair, and both dogs were on leads. They may have taken part in terrier-racing earlier in the day.

Vinnie, who was four years old, had to be put down on the site.

He was due to fly that day having recently reached the correct weight to perform and was also booked to fly at Hobbledown Farm in Epsom as part of a children's workshop.

“The amount of time you have to spend with these birds, it’s priceless," Steph said. “We will have to start all over again.”

A spokesman from Surrey Police said: "It was reported to Surrey Police that at 2.30pm on Sunday 11 May at the Cow Pie Country Show in Lingfield that a bird of prey on display by a stall holder was attacked by an onlooker’s dog.

"It suffered a broken wing and was subsequently put down by its owner.

"Anyone with any information should contact Surrey Police by calling 101 quoting reference number 45140038066."